Yeah hes the first Japanese player in the NHL.

Also I meant to say the LA Kings have their two starting goalies OUT so I edited my post accordingly.

To expand on Wojo's post,

Dan Cloutier is out for 3 months with a torn cartilage in his hip. Man did Dave Nonis (Canucks GM) ever fleece Lombardi, or what? I'm sure that Crawford had a hand in things, and a logical person can look at Cloutier's strong years with the Canucks, but come on.

They extended his contract for two more years giving him 3.5M per before the season even started. Come on. Clouts' career is over, and I'm sorry to rub this in the face of any present Kings fans. The guy probably isn't even a suitable NHL backup at this point. Nonis got a second round pick in 2007 for him, and also received another second rounder (2009) when Cloutier signed the extension (It was listed as a conditional pick when the trade went down).

Speaking of goalies, life is good with Roberto Luongo. :D

He plays in his hometown tonight, and after spanking the Malple Laffs 6-1 on Saturday, the Canucks absolutely molested the Canadiens 4-0 at the Bell Centre tonight.

Did anyone else watch this game? The Habs played abysmal, and the Canucks played probably their most complete game of the year, bar none. It was mind boggling how many times a Canuck player picked the pocket of a Montreal guy. And those passionate, passionate Hab fans had a hayday with their team, practically booing them off the ice.

Luongo made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season.

Kesler (1G,2A) played an awesome game.

Thats (9-1-0) in the last 10 for the Canucks. :D Thursday should be good, a matchup between the two hottest teams in the league.

Vancouver @ Ottawa

Man, that sure was one hell of a game. I've never seen the Canucks play that kind of hockey for a long time. They were getting to all the loose pucks, hitting hard, passing quickly and winning all the fights up against the boards. If they continue to play that kind of hockey, they'll get a playoff spot for sure.

You forgot Bieksa! 13 points in 13 games :D

As much as I love Vancouver, I have never seen them be that competitive for the majority of the season. This time of the season is about the right time were Vancouver starts dominating.... by the last 10 or so games.... things fall apart. Generally, they are either lucky, or not lucky as to whether they get into the playoffs at the end of the season.

I still love them though! :D

Cloutier's been garbage long before he was traded to LA, and even long before he was traded to Vancouver. We're so lucky that Crawford loves his dick and pressured a trade for him, or we might never have gotten rid of that pylon.

I'm glad the Pens dont play the Nucks this season. Especially right now.

Also Jason Blake is an asshole. Spearing Crosby like that last night was very uncalled for. Pens still got the 5-2 win though which is perfectly fine by me.

Looking further at the All-Star rosters (game is next week), the choices by the league (not the coaches, apparently, but the marketing department with help from the GMs) are really odd. Cristobal Huet was like 8th or 9th in Eastern Conference goaltender voting, and he's the 3rd keeper for them.

Justin Williams? Bill Guerin? Yanic Perreault? Very odd selection. And look at the West defense. Three young no-name dudes.

Just because people aren't as familiar with players doesn't mean they don't deserve to play. Huet's been awesome for a while now.

I'm not saying unpopular players don't deserve to play, but there's a delicate balance between talent and popularity the NHL ignored this year.

Who do you think deserved a spot above Huet?

Ray Emery.

hahahahah had the decision been taken after Ottawa rolled over Montreal 8-3, Emery would probably have been picked over Huet.

Even Roy's let in 9 goals in a game before. An anomalous game doesn't have anything to do with whether or not a player is all-star caliber.

Anyway, I'm not saying Huet was a bad choice. I'm saying some of the other choices were suspect and indicative of an NHL that wants to balance an improved game with shitty little bad things (new jerseys, odd All-Star picks, high ticket prices despite new economics).

Additional Spam:
Rory Fitzpatrick scored the game-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators tonight. All-Star snub!!!

:)

Did you see the goal? He freaking skated over the blueline, and flipped in a little dump on Emery.

Emery whiffed on it and it fluttered in past his glove. :D

Hilarious. Probably one of the worst goals that I've seen in a long, long, time.

That's 10 of our last 11, boys. :)

Another real test in Buffalo tomorrow. I think we're going to have fits with the Sabres' speed, namely Maxim Afinegenov. Look for Kevin Bieksa to be deep in the minus column tomorrow night.

There are murmurs that Dany Sabourin could get the start tomorrow, but I don't know if that would happen with the way Luongo (And the team itself) is playing as of late.

By the way, kudos to Cristobal Huet for the bounceback performance tonight against a talented Atlanta team.

COme on guys, pitch in with some detailed game reviews from your teams, I feel like an idiot going on about the Canucks every time that I post. :)

Well, I can tell you what happened with the Pens and Bruins.

Malkin scored two very impressive goals and Fleury played out of his mind (44 saves on 48 shots in regulation and OT, especially in the last 7 minutes or so), but Crosby's and Malkin's shootout woes continued for another night. Erik Christensen made them look really bad. Jordan Staal continues to impress.

But, man, Phil Kessel. He had testicular surgery a few weeks ago and he's scoring big goals (like tonight's game-winner in the shootout) and playing like he didn't skip a beat. If the Bruins stopped winning one, losing one, they have the offense and some good defense and could make a serious run in the playoffs. But Dave Lewis is going to bury this team, I think, as will the wonky goaltending. Remember when the Red Sox went with a bullpen by committee? (As recently as 2003, actually.) That's more or less what the Bruins are trying right now.

Anyway, 5-4 Bruins after the shootout. Bruins and Penguins are now equal in the points race, but Boston is 10th (Pittsburgh 11th) on wins.

The East is so wide open, it might come down to the last week of the season. (Buffalo's not THAT far ahead, and 6 points seperate 8th place and 14th place.) Forget the Flyers.

FreeHooker: how does it feel to know your 'Nucks are going to run away with a division where, if St. Louis and Phoenix continue to win, no one else will make it to the playoffs? :p

I dunno about that, it's not like Calgary's dropping games left and right. If every other team in the Northwest didn't make it, though, I'd be pretty happy. Just 'cause I hate those bitches.

Don't forget that Calgary is still two games behind Vancouver, and only a few points back. They may be in a little slump now (with their road record continuing to decline), but they're a good team, and can bounce back anytime. Just look at the Canucks. It only took a week for them to go from ball licking to ass kicking.

Unless the Canucks remain somewhat consistent, they better be careful, because any of the teams in the Northwest Division have the talent to skyrocket in the standings, and take away Vancouver's leading position. Especially Calgary.

Note: Rory Fitzpatrick scored his first as a Canuck last night versus the Sens. The game winning goal in a 2-1 Canuck victory!

These shootout losses are really starting to get to me. May as well blame it on Sergei.

Surprise: Bruins lose, Penguins win big. All is right with the world.

Yes you are correct sir.

The Maple Laughs are such a fucking joke. They even failed when they tried to start shit after being down by 6 goals. Like when McCabe was giving puches to Malkin. Orpik comes out of no where and starts landing punches on McCabe. I am glad he kicked his ass.

Why couldn't Malkin handle it himself? Do all these superstars need bodyguards now?

Also the Canucks lost to the Sens in a shootout last night:( The Sens scored with 40 seconds left in the third period to tie it up, and destroyed Sabourin's hope for getting his first NHL win. And Naslund missed his potential game winning shot in the shootout...big surprise...he still isn't shooting it the way he used to.

Like enforcers haven't been around since the birth of hockey.

Actually, I don't even know why I'm responding to this. You most likely didn't watch the game, so you're just talking out of your ass as it is.

Enforcers are for players like Gretzky, who are too scrawny to fend for themselves, and are too important to get pwned on by some other massive player.

Malkin isn't massive, but can certainly throw a few punches without getting carried away in a stretcher. Even Crosby, who's under 200 pounds gets under the skin of some players, and isn't afraid to play dirty once in a while.
Take Malkin and Ovechkin for example. Sure they're great players, but if they want to take their skill to another level, they need to learn to fend for themselves once in a while, just to show that they're not afraid to play with the big boys.

Who would you rather have in the box: Malkin or Brooks Orpik?